FourFiveSix

Time Machines From September to December I try things out and learn along the way, wishing I had a time machine so I could go back and try again with the things I’ve learned. Only here’s my secret: I do have a time machine. I call it “January.” And instead of going backwards, it takes [...]

You have likely heard Adele belt out her recent hit, Rolling in the Deep. But have you heard a ten-year-old sing it like this before? I work with preteens every week, yet I never expect them to break out into song, sounding like this. (And if the ten-year-old vocalist wasn’t enough, the other two musicians [...]

In honor of Reformation Day and Martin Luther’s iconic 95 Theses, below are my 9.5 Theses of Preteen Ministry: 1 – Have fun. When you teach, when you sing, when you do anything. Because they all want to. 2 – Be serious. When you teach, when you sing, when you do anything. Because they are all [...]

This week at Fifty6 we completely abandoned our “normal” programming to give our small group leaders space to spend one-on-one time with their students. And while leaders and students were in and out of a room together, everyone else was divided in four groups (by grade and gender). Throughout the night four of our pastors [...]

This past week was part two of our three week long “month ‘o kick off.” (Why do it just once when you can do it all month long?!) The first week was focused on registering all our students (and riding a mechanical bull). The second week was focused on connecting every student with their small [...]

This past week we had a training for our middle school LifeGroup Leaders and Family Leaders (LifeGroup Leaders are pastors to our students, Family Leaders are pastors to our pastors). Along with walking through their job description, expectations, how their role fits in with the larger big picture of our student ministry and our church, [...]

Ever wonder what it’s like to film a “Top Five” video? In Patrick’s words, “it’s awesome.”

This month we added something new to our preteen ministry: a second time for small groups. Our small groups always meet after Whatever You Do (our worship segment) and Roots (our teaching segment). They would have 25 minutes in their small groups. A couple months ago I sat in a room where our small groups [...]

This past weekend televisions acros the country were the source of huddles of people, eyes fixed on the main event: Super Bowl Commercials. Watching this year’s collection of consumeristic entertainment reminded me of a simple fact when it comes to teaching preteens: information is not enough. Super Bowl Commercials could simply tell you facts and [...]

Tonight at Fifty6 we don’t have our normal preteen ministry program. It’s the last Tuesday of the month which means it is a Rela Night. “Rela” is short for “Relationship.” And a Rela Night is a night where each small group does something together that helps build their relationships. From sleepovers to service projects (or [...]